The bidding period for the 14 oil blocks offshore Guyana is being further extended, as the Government works to modernize the legal framework that governs the local oil and gas industry, and simultaneously finalize the model Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), that will guide the operation of the new blocks.

According to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, “on the auction, we will have to extend it as I said before, for another period. We’ll determine what period. It should not be for much of a time”.

The bidding for the oil blocks opened last December and was expected to close at the end of April, but it was extended to mid-July. However, with the new extension, the potential bidders have been informed of the Government’s decision.

“Almost every one of the people who have indicated an interest, so far, in participating in the auction, they have been told, and I think they appreciate that we are sticking with our commitment to have the framework law in place, and the new PSAs before the bids come in,” the Vice President said.

The Vice President said it is crucial for the legal framework to be in place before the conclusion of the auction.

The draft model PSAs for the deepwater and shallow-water blocks were placed up for public scrutiny in March and is now undergoing another round of policy review.

The promised Petroleum Activities Bill, which is intended to replace the 1986 Petroleum Act, was only made public earlier this week as the Government initiated the consultative process. Mr. Jagdeo said the passage of the Bill will be followed by new regulations.

“A lot of the issues addressed in those modern pieces of legislation, where we were deficient in our laws, have been addressed. And a lot of the issues would be dealt subsequently after the passage of the bill through regulations. So, we anticipate the passage of the Petroleum Activities Bill, it becomes an Act, and then there after a series of regulations to give effect to the bill. The regulations are not required for the auction, we can work at that,” the Vice President explained.

He noted that all of the regulations under the existing legislation will be repealed when the updated legislation is passed.

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